Another Mask At The Opera
by BeautifulxDisasterxAngel
Summary: We've all heard about how the Phantom of the Opera was the greatest murderer of the late 1800's. But what about his sister? And his lover too! Late on Semi-Lemon caused T to M
1. Prolouge

There should have been something, anything, to warn me that night. Something to alert me to his sudden change of mood that would lead him to throw me out of the cellar via the Rue Scribe. But I was an idiot and I suppose above all that was my greatest mistake. Constantly asking him why he was dressing up. For gods sake I was only eight. But Erik, so much older, and not so much wiser than I, was sick of me that night.

"Why don't you just leave?" He screamed loudly, rattling the music on the piano. I edged backwards, tears flooding my eyes like waterfalls.

"Brother?"

His arms locked around me and tossed me into the Rue Scribe. Locking the gate and locking me out forever.

My eyes searched frantically in the dead of a Paris night. The water had soaked my favorite dress and I was cold and alone. And for a young girl, that was the worst fate that anyone could've handed me.

"Come here beautiful..."

And my screams pierced the very fabric of the night sky, ripping it asunder and destroying its beauty forever.


	2. Falling Down

I'd never find the evidence so horrible  
To clear my thoughts  
I drill a hole into my skull  
Clean up my brains  
Sweep them underneath the rug  
I needed them more than I needed  
Any other drug

Falling Down - Atreyu

8 Years Later.

That night haunts my every waking dream. His hands lingering on my flesh, the ripping, searing pain between my legs. Sometimes I wake, only to wish to die. I'm a living dead girl with no hope of life.

Erik lay in front of me, his shallow breathing the curse of my stupidity. Heartbeat a steady fade, but I had complete faith in his complete ability to recover. How was I supposed to stop it from spreading.... When he had done it himself....

Brittany's footsteps interrupt my thoughts, and I flee. Without a second thought my life is to end.


	3. Soul On Fire

Addicted to our divine despair  
The venom of the cross we bear  
The guilt will follow us to death

Soul On Fire - HIM

Toes on edge of my favorite bridge, Memories haunt me no more. The complete freedom I will seize. Crush myself to its breast and bite the nipple that nurses me to death. The fattening milk of venom and hatred that consumes my veins in fire.

She cannot run, she cannot catch, for merely she is a chorus girl with the body of a stallion. I am a fire-dragon. Searing the sky and scalding the darkest night. Released from the bonds of human life, I leap off of this ledge and fall, freely into pitch black water.

The cold, forgiving fingers of mother death surround me and fight out my last breath. But the warm scent of equine and wool surround me. The reminder of a spanning manse and large stables. And a obsidian mare, the mare Brother and I rode on....

Away...away..


	4. Tree Hugger

And in the sea there is a fish  
A fish that has a secret wish  
A wish to be a big cactus  
With a pink flower on it

Tree Hugger - Antsy Pants

_Wow, Its really bright in here. LIKE REALLY BRIGHT! _I sat up on the couch and looked around shyly. _I don't remember how I got here. OOOH! A COOKIE! _I snagged a cookie off of the table and looked around from my place on the bed. _Pretty normal looking place. Looks like a woman decorated it. Maybe this old lady is a.... NURSE! _

_Yeah a nurse. That's real fucking helpful._

_Who the fuck are you?_

_A voice in your mind. Oooo! Spooky! I can tell you what to do and you'll do it!_

_Oh really? TRY ME!_

_Fine. Scratch your ass._

_NO! _My hand scratched. Once. twice. _Damn it. _

_You know that talking to voices in your head is the first sign of scizophrenia, right?_

_Scizo-WHAT!?! GET OUT OF MY GREY MATTTER!_

"Ma'm?" An unsure voice carried to my ears.

_Oh._

_My._

_God. Gorgeous._ A man, full grown stood in front of me with a slight grin and this beautiful flopping auburn hair that was so shiny. _I WANT TO TOUCH YOU! CAN I TOUCH YOU? YOU'RE GORGEOUS! CAN I HAVE YOUR BABIES?_


	5. Love Game

I wanna kiss you  
But if I do then I might miss you, babe  
It's complicated and stupid  
Got my ass squeezed by sexy cupid  
Guess he wants to play, wants to play  
A love game, A love game

Love Game - Lady Gaga

((i just figured out that my beginning and Britts ending don't match up. But lets just imagine back there that it took her a while to get in the room))

He sat on the edge of my bed with a piece of parchement with a red wax seal on it. Very intriging it was. He handed it to me. "La Opera Populaire's Phantom has sent these to all of the homes in Paris. I assume he's trying to find you."

I slowly opened the letter to find thses words.

**Sister,**

**Soon my life will expire. Strength is vanishing. Giry sits beside me to write as Brittany has ran off to find a cure, a cause. I suspect you know. Find the cure, sister, as only you can. I have faith in her, I do, but time runs out. By the end of the week, my life as the Phantom will have faded. Not like anyone will bother. I pray to whatever God watching over you will take care of you. Come back, she misses you... I must leave this note unfinished, for strength has faded ompletely and I must rest.**

**Erik.**

_**Miss Destler, you must return soon. The small things we do are sapping it all out of him. Eating is a challenege and the simple medicines we can afford are even more poisonous that expected. Godspeed, Madame Giry.**_

"So... Do you even remember your name?"

I shook my head softly. "Nope, not a bit. But I have this nagging feeling that where ever I was, theres a problem that still exists."

His hands grasped a cup and held it to my lips. The brown tea smelled mintish. I took a tiny sip. Tasted like chocolate, licorice and mint. "This is supposed to fight the effects that the water might have on you. It could've been contaminated. Alot of people in Paris have caught sick from the river you jumped in. The best doctor in all of France gave this to me."

I tilted my head to the side and wondered why._ He doesn't look sick._ And that he doesn't. Clear blue eyes with concern. Overgrown auburn hair that hung over his brow and collar. His shirt open to reveal a slightly tanned but still white chest.

"Who?" I wondered.

"Nadir." The name rang a bell. Quite a few.

"Take me to him? I can use a good run in the city. Meanwhile, tell me about these rumors. Who is the infamous Phantom of the Opera you fear. _And why does he want me?_"


	6. Please Don't Leave Me

I can be so mean when I wanna be  
I am capable of really anything  
I can cut you into pieces  
But my heart is broken

Please Don't Leave Me - P!NK

The words became a story to entrance me as we walked through Paris.

"The Phantom's true name is Erik Destler. Seeing as your name is Miss Destler, I guess he really is your brother. He came to Paris eleven years ago. It would've made you roughly 5." _Riding on the black mare. Mane as white as snow, but coat the shiniest obsidian. _"He took over the opera house at 13 thanks to a kind girl-child named Madame Giry who became a ballet teacher in the house." _Kind eyes helping me down into the cellar as _**_he_**_ rushed in front of us at a speedy pace to get to his home._ "When he turned 20, a young woman by the last name of Daee entered and stole his heart." _The young beautiful voice singing about an angel. _"Erik turned his sister on the streets only to take her back after the young Daee had cried out in shame at his face. He used poison to erase her memory." _The ruined dress. The poison lessons. The rape. THE RAPE! THE FILTHY MAN, WITH FISH STAINED HANDS AND AN EVIL GRIN! THE LAUGH! _"Miss Destler! Are you ok!?" _THE GUNSHOTS RIPPING THROUGH THE NIGHT, NOT FAST ENOUGH TO SAVE VIRTUE! _"Help! Somebody! Anybody! Take her to Nadir's! PLEASE!"


	7. Lifeline

I've been looking for a lifeline  
For what seems like a lifetime  
I'm drowning in the pain, breaking down again  
Looking for a lifeline

Lifeline - Papa Roach

"She'll be fine."

"You sure?"

"..."

"Nadir!"

"You brought her out of the trance, but the effects aren't certain."

Door opening. Closing.

"Noemi?"

"Ma'm, refrain yourself from speaking any louder than what we are. You may wake her."

"You're Nadir?"

"Aye, and this man is Rafe. He found her in the river. She attempted suicide."

"But...Why?"

"Seems to be something only she knows... Unless you know why?"

"Erik is sick, and I'm trying everything I can but nothings working. He told me to find you."

"Does he have any self inflicted...?"

"NO! ERIK, HE WOULDN'T DO THAT! YOU BASTARD!"

The sound of flesh hitting flesh.

"My apoligies ma'm."

_Find your voice. SPEAK NOEMI!_

"....Take...Me...To...Him...."


	8. Falls Apart

And I don't feel the need to go on  
I was happier singing along the way  
I had things, I need to say  
But now it's like a swallowed tape  
That holds up my face from inside  
As everything just falls apart  
'Cause everything just fell apart for me

Falls Apart - Hurt

_My brother. Erik Destler. Prince of the Night. King of Death. The Phantom of the Opera. Sick, and dying. _

_Woe is the sister who realizes too late her power in her remaining families death. Woe is the bride who searches too hard for a clue and not seeing the true sickness. Woe is the friend who does not sleep for fear of a dead body. Woe is the doctor who cannot grasp the correct medicine. Woe is the man who's love for a strange faerie of a woman is too soon slipping through his fingers. Yes, woe is this starnge tapastry of a world in which we thrive. Woe is we. Woe is me._

My mind raced as I rested on Rafe's back as he carried me into the dark dungeons. Madame Giry walked ahead, her concerned whispers carrying back to me.

"Why, Brittany, would she feel the need to die?"

"She must've been jealous, or lonely..."

"Her disaperance a long time ago, was it related?"

"I should pray to the good Lord not!"

"Noemi!" Giry's voice screeched into my ears, "Can you remember his symptoms and draw paralells?"

I strained my sore mind to remember. "Reddish bumps, Swollen joints, Enlarged lymph nodes, Depression, Chills, Weight loss..."

"That could be any number of things..." Nadir whispered. "Did he have kidney stones and difficulty breathing?"

"Yes. I believe so."

"Sarcoidosis." Nadir determined. "There is no cure. But he must excercise, eat healthy, drink plenty of water and..."

"AND WHAT!?!" Brittany whipped around, anger flooding her eyes.

Nadir mumbled and cleared his throat. "He must walk in the sun."

"Shhh...." I whispered as I climbed off of Rafe's back and walked into my brothers home.


	9. Dead Man's Ballet

Would, could I have done differentlyYou never said there was anything wrongNow the drugs, they give me encouragementWhy? Why? Why?Oh God, tell me I'll make itI'll give you my blood if that's all you needJust don't tell me that I'm gonna die,Die, die!

Dead Man's Ballet - Sixx A.M.

My brother had been in the cellar so long. I could never remember a time when he had walked in the sun with normal people. He had always hid in La Opera Populaire, and now he must come out of hiding.

My head throbbed like it had been for hours. Who knew waking up from suicide induced amnesia would make me feel like my skull was being cracked open onto pavement?

Rafe. For some reason he circled around me, trying to be protective of me at all possible times. I could not recall his role in my previous tribulations. The most I can remember was that sickly Christine Daee telling the managers I had attempted to poison her. All because she was nearing the end of her career and I had an opportunity to be the next, great, prima donna! Hadn't I proved self more than worthy without Erik's help?

The little wench must die, I concluded. Far too long a thorn in my side righteously ignored but this, this my friend has stretched on far too long!

I walked into Erik's room and the side of his mouth twitched into a half smirk.

"Ah, Noemi. Quite a temper, eh?" His eyes were alight with flames of pain and a secret, hidden gem of laughter.

I laughed softly and wiped the sweat from his brow. I could feel Nadir at my back, ready to intervene at any moment.

"You needn't be strong. We're all professionals here." I whispered with care.

That carefully structured facade of a mask he had used to hide from Brittany crashed down and the pain took over his body. Quickly, I worked to inject an antidote for any of my poisons he may've used to cut out the pain. I smelled opium on his breath and could tell the slow work of lead in his veins. Checking vitals, I found no evidence of lead poisoning, but the opium was an addicting monster, and made his sarcoidoisis even worse.

"Give me my opium!" he screamed loudly with his hands around my neck, shaking me.

The coldest stare I have ever given was passed to him. "Erik. No. Your body will barely survive your withdraws." His fevered eyes spelled insanity. "You must remain sober and deal with the pain you yourself have caused."

His tremors and terrors continued. Nadir and I checked solemnly, not knowing the problems in the other room. Not knowing how Brittany struggled not to rush in and comfort him. How Rafe feared for my life while I stood beside my brother. Or how Madame Giry was always strangely knitting by candlelight...


	10. Good Riddance

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the roadTime grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to goSo make the best of this test, and don't ask whyIt's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) - Green Day

I cannot say how many days I remained in that dungeon with my own brother. The death threats wounded me but still I forced fruits and vegetables down his throat. No matter what the fight, he still laid in sunlight for three hours a day. An a miracle was coming. I could feel it.

Erik became my brother again. No longer a murderer of the night, but the man who had raised me for so long. The kind, caring person that was a joy to be around. When the sickness had finally passed, he healed every scar his words had caused. And I believed.

Brittany and Erik had a beautiful wedding in the cellars. Andre and Firmin invited a priest into the depths and blessed the union thoroughly. I have never seen my dearest friend or brother so overjoyed. However, Brittany's scar will remind us of the time we all had almost lost each other forever.

Rafe, although the necessity to be around me constantly had passed, he has remained by my side. Overly so, may I add, that he attends my operas and enjoys my soprano voice soaring into both rafter and cellar. His arms embrace me and I wonder. Could he feel with me, what Erik feels with Brittany?

I know of love and I know of hate, oh, sweet, burning hate. But what I know of love is textbook. What is love?

I suppose to you, my dear reader, my story is over. Erik is fine, Brittany is married. But what about me? What about little, poor Noemi? My story continues, just as life continues.

As long as you choose to follow.


	11. You

Somehow I'll show you That you are my night sky I've always been right behind you Now I'll always be right beside you

You - Evanescence

My pen hovers over paper in this empty apartment. Long gone is the futon, the pillows, the bookcase, and revealing is the browning paper, peeling off the walls in this damp Paris night. The oil lamp glows softly as I seal my letter with my wax stamp and tie the black ribbon around it.

I remember in detail my words, though if I speak them out loud, it would confirm my fears. A battle is in the air and poor Paris is going to be caught in the fray. I fear the worst in mankind.

And these words seal my destiny.

(3 months earlier)

Rafe is protector and guardian. Erik has secured that for him. I keep wondering why but I suppose it cannot be helped.

My long dress fills the corridor, dragging behind me, white and grey. My very dress that I have become known for. Noemi the silent, I am called, though if they truly knew me,

they'd find I'm not. MY voice is loud and clear if you'll get on my wavelength.

"Noemi, where are you going?" Erik's voice rang out from the vents.

"Wherever I please." I replied curtly and made a sprint for the door.

"Ah, ha ha." The door shut and locked, "Not without Rafe. Let me fetch him."

"He's busy!" I hissed and pulled at the knob, hoping to break it. No dice.

"But never busy enough to not care for you." His smirk was evident, even five stories below ground.

"Erik! Like you do! You're too busy caring for Brittany's immense 'womanly' needs!"

Complete silence. I win.

I pulled the door open and slipped into the rain, only to come face to chest with Rafe.

His eyes, strangely clouded, caressed mine, pulling me into a trance. I felt this cord being tied around my heart and connected to his. This incredible...Happiness.

His arms gently wrapped around me and I could only see, feel, smell him. Nothing else matters. Just him.

Why? Why am I so comforted by his touch that I lose control of everything? But I stayed in his warm embrace, hearing the rain around us.

Softly he lifted my head to his, his eyes piercing mine. Seeming to go straight to my soul. And gently, ever so gently, he pressed his lips to mine in a kiss so loving, that my being flew into the night, above the clouds and laid on the atmosphere in awe at the heavens.

Too soon his embrace over, the kiss filed away and my soul giving me one, sole truth.

Rafe loves me, and I love him.

The accusing looks and "Tsk, tsk"'s Brittany gave me were unnerving. As were my brothers chuckles every time he caught one of us staring at the other. But I can only assume this was their deliciously evil plot from the beginning.

My days filled with rehearsal, my nights on the roof with Rafe, looking at the Paris night before retiring to the cellar or his apartment to rest. I must admit that each day filled me more and more with love for the one person who had saved my life.

Rafe was easily becoming my everything and for once I did not fear this complete take over. I welcomed it with open arms. Until that night.

"Noemi," he spoke softly as he looked into my eyes as we laid on the rooftop. "A war is rising."

"And?" I could feel my voice quake, "They don't need you."

His sad gaze punctured me. "Yes, they do."

I struggled to stand. "No! The Gods have given me love and they WILL NOT TAKE IT AWAY!"

His hands locked around my arm. "But Noemi. They are. I must fight."

Tears welled up in my eyes and I shut them, trying to close out the pain like a poison I didn't want. But it was there, corroding my soul. "Why..."

"I must."

"But what if you die?" I couldn't bear this pain. Couldn't take losing him.

"I will leave you with life."

"You mean..." My mind was confused, befuddled by this knowledge.

"You must become pregnant. Give me another reason besides your beauty to come home." His smile made me cry harder and in the darkness of the night, we set on our journey to life and death.

The morning was filled with grief and sadness. He asked me to write him when I knew. And although it took three months from his departure, I soon knew. Nadir took care of me, closely guarding the precious little one inside. Brittany was also expecting a child. And while he pregnancy was happy and joyous, my own was hell. Her once concern was "Will my child carry a deformity?". My many concerns were so much greater. Like would my child even have a father? How long would this war last?

The military had taken away his belongings to burn. I only remained at night to write. A soldier by the name of Paul was to meet me in the morrow to carry my letter to Rafe.

Carefully with my fountain pen, I wrote.

_Dearest,_

_For the nights are cold, I am sure they are colder where you are. The child within yearns for you. Nadir's care has helped ease the pain. Please my love, I beg of you. Come home soon._

_Love,_

_Noemi Allette Destler._

And sealed away my heart.


	12. Unknown Soldier

**Show me what it's likeTo dream in black and white,So I can leave this world tonight.**

**Unknown Soldier - Breaking Benjamin**

**(4 Years Later)**

**I am dead inside. No tears fall from my eyes. Rafe has been gone four long years. My heart is heavy in my chest as I watch the last wave of soldiers return to a ruined France. His face is not among them and I return to the organ to finish the last notes on my opera. My voice rises up the cellars and echoes back to me.**

**Erik and Brittany had a perfect baby boy. Rene Destler, who is a extremely poised prince of the night. He has learned his ruling grounds over the house and is quite comical when he bosses around Andre and Firmin. Did I mention he is only 3? With curly black hair and cutting grey eyes, he could be mistaken for my child, but is not.**

**A small bundle of brown hair flew towards me and landed, giving me sloppy secondhand kisses. Shanton was my little angel in the midst of tragedy. Her blue eyes pierced my soul and calmed the rough waters of insanity. Pale hand on mine she lead me away from the organ and up the many stairs to the lobby where my worst nightmare was awaiting me.**

**Paul had looked better years ago when he took my letter in his sweating palms and made no promises. At least his uniform had survived.**

**", I gave Rafe the letter those many years ago. Here is every letter he gave me on the field for you, in the event he would not return." In his hand, a bloodied brick of paper that he held out to me in surrender. Erik glanced from my weakening body to Paul.**

**"Maybe this isn't the best time. If you would kindly leave the premises I can assure no harm will be fall you." He paused stoically and took a deep breath, "She could become very violent soon. I suggest you turn your happy ass around and leave."**

**I glared at Erik with fire in my soul, "No." I grasped the letters to my chest and breathed in the scent of war. "He's dead isn't he?"**

**Paul looked down, and my world went black.**

**(Erik's POV)**

**The bastard never understood that she was on the precipse of insanity. He just simply did not get that her heart was burdened by the weight of almost losing her career and her lover. Shanton delicately danced as Rene's eyes watched her protectively.**

**More like brother and sister than cousins they were. Rene's strong attitude at his age determined his future better than my own. I would leave the name of Phantom to my own son, though he would never be forced to wear a mask and hide behind the name of Angel. My son, so tragically beautiful how he could come from one as wicked as I.**

**Shanton was the living reincarnation of her father, just with Noemi's grace and aptitude for learning. Her movements reminded me of the gypsy camp and how much I despised what Noemi did just for a meal. For god's sake she could barely stay on a horse when we fled the manse for a better life in Persia. How foolish was I...How incredibly foolish.**

**Noemi was laid up in her room, alone. I fear that the sickness is spreading now in her veins, the dark victim of a tango between happiness and a depression so deep, she is not even allowed anywhere. I wonder if Rafe even has an idea where ever he is how much pain she is in. Just to live rips her heart wide open and lets it bleed all over the world.**

**When I said I was dying about a broken heart, I was saved by Brittany. But who will save Noemi?**


	13. The Sacrament

**I hear you breathe so far from meI feel your touch so close and realAnd I knowMy church is not of silver and gold,It's glory lies beyond judgment of soulsThe commandments are of consolation and warmthYou know our sacred dream won't failThe sanctuary tender and so frailThe sacrament of loveThe sacrament of warmth is trueThe sacrament is youI hear you weep so far from meI taste your tears like you're next to meAnd I knowMy weak prayers are not enough to healOh the ancient wounds so deep and so dearThe revelation is of hatred and fear**

**The Sacrament- HIM**

**(Rafe P.O.V)**

**With a heavy soul I return to a ruined Paris. The hope for a peaceful resolvement, faded as my uniform. The horrors and the deaths of war are bared heavy on my mind. Around me I saw many soldiers returning into open arms, yet where was my forever love? Where had Paul disappeared to?**

**It seemed like a dream, how easily we had been shot down. Bullets whizzed by me and one found its home in my shoulder. Paul had taken my letters, in the assumption I would die on the field. Would've too, if a strange nun hadn't saved my life. But still, she had not came to the edge of town, like she had promised. I was alone, and scarred. And no one cared.**

**So along the streets I stumbled, stores closing around me. Ghosts of crepes and stews hung low in the air. Beggars lingered in streets, hoping for a franc, but receiving only stares. The lamp boy reached high about his head to light a single lamp.**

**My mind wondered about her face. Would it have changed? No, most likely not. Did she carry our child to term? Have I been fighting for a family no longer in existence? Did she try yet again to kill herself? In a rage, has she killed our child? Is it a strong boy or a smiling girl? Who does the child take after? Where is she now? Has Erik kept our promise of keeping Noemi alive? Or just as easily as he left everything behind, would he do it again?**

**I slid down at a bar and my eyes slid to the barista. A young woman, perhaps a little older than Noemi. Long curly brown hair. Brown eyes. Obviously hiding defining features such as her own pregnancy. **_**Christine, Christine. Will you ever learn...**_

**"Ma'm. Where is La Opera Populaire? Is it still standing?"**

**She froze. **_**Bingo. Hello my pretty dull one.**_

**"What opera house sir?" Her voice, shaking. Fearful. She gave it all away.**

**I smiled, "My dear, La Opera Populaire. The one near the Rue Scribe."**

**A gun cocked behind me. "Rafe Aldan. Back from war and already missing your insane posse. She had your bastard child. A horrific ugly girl. I would've put it out of its misery but I figure on one of the Phantoms rages he would be quite easily talked into destroying the wretched thing."**

**I snorted, knowing full well that the Phantom Raoul knew was nothing like the Erik we all knew. "A girl, eh. What a blessing. Maybe she'll turn out better than my disappointment of a cousin. Correct Raoul? Or maybe Christine hasn't told you that. That we too shared nights listening to Fathers tales of the north. That Mamma Valerius wiped both our asses while we were still shitting green."**

**I turned slowly to see Raouls look and knocked the gun out of his hands. **_**Pathetic. **_

_**Messing with a soldier. You will pay, de Changy.**_

**I wasn't surprised by my own actions of grabbing him by his throat and pushing him up against the wall. Nor was it a surprise when He decided to spit on my face.**

**"Raoul, **_**what kind of idiot hides in cowardice from a civil man? **_**What sort of **_**moron**_** leaves his wife's pregnancy hidden like you're ashamed of it?" I grinned and remembered a small tale around the fields. "Oh thats right, a man who doesn't have his families permission to marry a peasant girl."**

**His face turned quite a lovely shade of red as the noises emitted from his throat. His feet kicked out in all directions, a strangely beautiful choking noise flowing from his throat. Blood pooled at the edges of his lips.**

**A gunshot rang out.**

**Instead of holding a pretty boy, I now held a bloody pulp. Crimson ran down the walls in torrents. Christine's gasped sobs rang out.**

**She was holding a gun. A gun that shot a bullet. A bullet that killed her lover.**

**I wiped my hands on her shirt, smiled, gave her a tip, and walked into the night.**

_**Erik, a new Phantom will take a place by your side. But not tonight. **_


	14. Alone in this Bed

**Waking up without you It doesn't feel right To sleep with only memories It's harder every night Sometimes I think I can feel you breathing on my neck Tonight I'm reaching out to the stars I think that he owes me a favor It doesn't matter where you are I'll hold you again **

**Alone in this Bed - Framing Hanley**

**(Erik P.O.V)**

**Shanton and Rene slept soundly on the futon, curled around Brittany. She had fallen asleep hours ago, after checking on a destroyed Noemi yet again. I cringed at the memories of the many wounds she had inflicted on herself. A constant shot of morphine from Nadir kept her comatose so she couldn't hurt anyone. **_**There is nothing I can do! **_**I thought again for the millionth time. **_**I am protecting her and everyone else. She will thank me later.**_

**Her sobs rose from her room and I knew she wasn't going to hurt herself again. But I couldn't help but listen to her cries and feel her pain deep inside my soul. If Brittany had died... I have no idea what I would've done. I can only thank whatever God was watching her that cold night. When I saw her, laying in front of me, so pale, ghostly white, my heart died inside. Knowing that she had tried to die because she loved me.**

**"ERIK!" A voice rang through the dark. Coming from... The Rue Scribe gate? **_**Curious, quite curious.**_** I mused silently as I grabbed a torch and walked to the gate.**

**Rafe's long hair had seen better days and his beard was coming in fully. Blood and dirt caked him all over but he seemed not to mind. What he did mind was my mask. Missing. His shock was hard to hide but he recovered quite quickly. His smile was true, and as he spoke, I felt like we were friends yet again. "How's my love? Is she ok?"**

**My eyes fell and I turned to walk away before his words stopped me, full of depression. **

**"She's that bad?"**

**It wasn't a question. It was a statement.**

**I sighed softly and kept walking. I heard his footfalls, slow and heavy behind me. "She's been horrible Rafe. Shanton was born years ago. Even throughout the pregnancy we couldn't pull her away from Apollo's Lyre. She slept up there Rafe. Every night."**

**Rafe walked into the water, tears streaming down his face as he started washing himself. I averted my eyes and kept talking as he groomed himself to see her. "Her delivery was hard. She died twice in the midst of it. She was so depressed she couldn't produce milk for the babe, just stayed at Apollo's Lyre, crying. And as the days wore on, and turned into months, years, she created operas, performed but gained no happiness. Every night she would scan the crowd for you and never find your face among the hundreds."**

**His cries filled the cavern as he punched the wall, the water, anything. "I had no choice but to leave her here and dreamed of her happiness! I stayed at war, lived, FOUGHT FOR MY LIFE to pave her a happy life! I wanted to see my child and her on every occasion I was allowed the chance to run into a village! My many letters spoke of the need to know of her well being!"**

**His crazed eyes looked at me, pierced even me with fear. "For four years I have needed her by my side. FOR FOUR YEARS ERIK!" He slid into a set of clothing on the rock and grabbed the torch from me. "Not one more moment will I wait!"**

**(Noemi POV)**

**Like a mirage in the desert, he was in front of me. Shimmering, shining, glowing. Older, bolder. Mine alone. I wished to reach out and touch him but feared he would disappear like always. His mouth moved slowly as he stared at me. His words were like fuzz to my ears. But then he walked towards me and wrapped me in his arms.**

_**He's here.**_

**He's safe.**

_**He's home...**_

**Rafe...**

**He smelled like home. He smelled amazing. His muscles under my finger tips brought me to tears. I clung to him as he clung to me in the fevered storm of our emotions. His heartbeat, I could hear it rushing through his chest. And in this moment, everything was perfect. Everything.**


	15. Ghost of Me

Thought it was dead and buriedThen it woke you up last nightYou sounded so damn worriedYou've been tossing, turning, both ends burningI wanna put your mind at ease again(Make everything alright)I know it's getting underneath your skinI've tried to tell you now

Ghost of Me - Daughtry

"Happy Birthday!"

Shaton's teenage cheeks lit up with fire as she stuck her tongue out at me. Those two beautiful blue eyes pierced souls, as Brittany liked to mention. Only difference was that her eyes didn't scream anger. They whispered love and innocence. But, we were not fooled.

"Daddy, you should've gotten a strawberry cake." Rafe's face turned pale as he nodded softly.

"Well, sweetie, they ran out of strawberries." We held our breath collectively as anger struck her small 13 year old body.

She sighed a world heaving sigh and glared at the offending chocolate cake. "WHAT USE IS THE BEST BAKER IN ALL OF EUROPE IF HE CAN'T EVEN MAKE A STRAWBERRY CAKE FOR A COUPLE HUNDRED THOUSAND FRANCS! HONESTLY UNCLE ERIK, WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST KILL THAT BITCH!" Her screamed almost made poor Rene piss his pants.

I placed a weary hand on my forehead and whispered, "Cellar voice sweetie."

"FUCK HAVING A CELLAR VOICE!" She whirled around angrily, her dress hitting the table and making the cake fall on the floor. Rene eeped and mourned the loss of a perfectly good chocolate cake while his cousin screamed in my face.

"Enough..." Erik stepped in front of Shaton and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck.

"This may be your 13th birthday but you still live in this Opera House with your mother and father and me. And I _will not tolerate your prima donna bitchiness._ I have dealt with enough of it from Adele and her insane requests for her own way and I have had _enough!_" He dropped her and glared over his shoulder. "Your punishment is to clean the stage after tomorrows performance, no assistance."

Shaton's face flickered from me to Erik. "Mama! He can't make me! I refuse!" In her eyes, fucking tears. _Goddamnit...._

I turned my stare as cold as I could towards her and looked down my nose. "I agree and fully back this punishment. You need to understand that neither Erik or I have had easy lives. You are blessed that it is only cleaning the stage."

Rafe's arms encircled around me and I leaned my weary head back. _30 years of life. Wasted away. _His lips kissed my neck gently as he attempted to calm me down. His hands found my ribbon and tugged it to let my floor length hair tumble to the ground in a wavy silky mess. The black hair I was once so proud of now tinted a dark brown.

"Rafe..."

"Mmm??"

"I miss the past..."

"I don't." He snorted as he said those two words.

"Why..?"

He shrugged and I let it drop. For now.

(Erik POV)

Christmas... 2 weeks to go.

And in my hands, lists. Of stuff. To buy. Because apparently if your name happens to be Erik Destler, The Phantom of the Fucking Opera, you need to buy things. For others.

_Joy...._


	16. I Won't Be Home For Christmas

It's Christmas time againIt's time to be nice to the people you can't stand all yearI'm growing tired of all this Christmas cheerYou people scare mePlease stay away from my homeIf you don't wanna get beat downJust leave the presents and then leave me alone.

I won't be home for Christmas - Blink 182

(Rene POV)

Sneak. Snuck. Snook.

_Hmmm..._

Kills. Kill. Killed.

_Seems to be a pattern of good, better, best.... _I turned my head to the side and stared at the book before looking up at my father. He hadn't changed much supposively since when he was "younger". Well besides he didn't wear a mask. I didn't quite understand why everyone feared my father. He was a sweet, caring gentleman to my mother. As for Auntie, he played a long series of pranks with her. But Father was always a man that I had looked up to. Always. Especially when he didn't yell at me for peering in the ballet dressing room...

(Erik POV)

_WHERE THE FUCK IS A CHRISTMAS TREE SUPPOSED TO GO! In the corner! NO! Too "CRAMMED" full of "OLD MUSIC"! Old music my ass! Just because it hasn't contained a major chord in 30 years doesn't mean its going to CHANGE! What if I just throw the damn thing in the lake! What if Agalaope ate the tree, lights and all!? What a pretty spectacle she would become!_

_Hmm... What about a floating partition on the lake... Easy disposal... No annoying pine thingies stuck to my socks.... Rene could set it on fire with a bow and flaming arrow and we could have a "big bang" for New Years.. Perhaps put corn kernels in a bag and make some popcorn. Possibly have a popcorn fight... Yes this Christmas will be fantastic if only I can find a place for this damn tree!_


	17. Love Addict

Need a refill cause I just can't get enough  
I've got a fever, oh yeah, and the prescription's love  
So lay the truth on me  
Cause that is all that I need

Love Addict – Family Force 5

Rafe's hands were always strong to me. Were always what I needed to get myself through the day. His kisses meant more to me than anything else in the world. Always left me softly waiting for more, until my gates would burst forth in passionate love. He was my master and protector, guiding me through waves of pleasure and sweet pain that dictated that, yes, I was alive. More so than I had ever been.

With svelte grace he would move within me, slow strokes that would caress and intensify my feelings tenfold. I clung to him like a lifeboat, never fearing that he would fail. In my heart, a swift burning would rise and envelop me in a passion so strong that I could do nothing but scream out his name repeatedly like a mantra of the Tibetan monasteries. Rafe, Rafe… His love was of an angelic sort that left me craving more. His sex was mine and mine alone and he always left me satisfied in our bed.

So it was no different of a morning when I awoke on Christmas day from our love making to see him staring out a window at Paris snow above. "Love," I ventured to try to break his trance on this beautiful morning, not knowing what lingered on in his heart. Whether it is the war that destroyed us once but never again, or our daughter, growing so swiftly.

Rafe's head turned slightly and he smiled. A smile I had seen plenty of times, but not from him. From Erik. The smile that said 'I have a secret, and no man will find it for it is buried in my heart and I am determined to die with it'. A smile that thoroughly scared me as he walked out of our room. I could swear behind him, he looked exactly like the Phantom.

(Rafe P.O.V)

Winter, it was pure beauty to my eyes. Just like her, laid out on the sheets in front of me. Her snowy white body draped in her blackish brown hair. Those grey eyes pierce and tantalize as she would watch me move around her luscious curves. Her breast fit my hand and mine alone. I was sure of that. Her "womanly area" shyly hid behind a small piece of the blanket and I deftly would move it aside and please her all day if she would let me. But instead her soft sighs of her dreams were the only sound in the room as I thought over her body.

My arousal rose in my body and I stared at her mouth, a rounded pink 'O' of happiness from the pleasure I had given her before she had fallen into deep sleep. The round still smelled of sex when I realized, that no matter how many times I dived into her glorious core, I would always want more. I would make love to her constantly if her body would hold up to the constant strain. Her love and her desire were all that kept my heart beating. If she decided for even a split second that she no longer wanted me, it would kill me. My body would act of its own accord and go to the top of this damn opera house and fling itself off the highest tenement.

I only wanted her love, was it that damn bad? Was it enough that Madeline had pulled me off the battlefield to threaten me about stealing away her daughter? A daughter, mind you that she just wanted to create into a whore from a young age. Noemi, she would never be something that a man could appreciate in a single night for a couple francs. She was a lifetime treasure, something only a husband could love.

A husband… Something that I wasn't. Something I would become in time.

"Love?"

_Oh my darling if only you knew the happiness that will become you. _I thought with love in my soul as I walked out of her room.

(Madeline P.O.V)

The carriage bounced around as I peered along the French country side. My demon son and failure daughter hiding in some opera house in France. Scum, that's all they were. Just like their father who had left when Noemi was still shitting green. The bitch would never have anything good about her; it was in her genes to fail. My hand clutched a knife closer under my skirt.

The soldier of hers said they had conceived a child together, that it was among the most protected child of all Paris. That was the very child I would take out my revenge on. For what else could I use to get my point across but a "helpless, defenseless child"? No, this child was not defenseless if it was truly a Destler. This child would be the most powerful if it was at home, being trained by me. For female beauty, intellect, and cunning were a Destler's true traits. Traits that would make the perfect assassin.


	18. Chapter 18

Erik stood on the edge of box five, looking down into the crowd, Rene by his side, Rafe by the door and I reclining on the couch. The sound of the orchestra warming up below the stage greatly overwhelmed the conversation under us. "I believe, by now, memories of the Phantom of the Opera have long fled the minds of the corrupted circus act below. Their acts so vile and thick that Don Juan would not have even spat at them, let alone wasted his time to kill and make the world right again. The unnumerous thoughts of tyranny have leaked onto this very stage and poisoned the floorboards black as their souls. The Phantom was not a masked vigilante, but a soul wishing for correctness and purity."

Rene's eyes were open wide as he peered at his father with curiosity. He understood, of course, that Erik and I ran this opera by fear and cunning, but had never heard our own reasons for the chaos. His hands trembled on the edge of the arm rests as the prima donna began her aria, the first of many she would sing. Her voice rose to the highest points but didn't seem to soar and try to break the barriers. She was seemingly content being average other than extraordinary. Something that simply would not do.

"Rene, I was not always the benevolent man you see today. I scorned those who donated money to charity. The men would donate thousands of francs and then brag about it in their boxes, insisting their wives had done it, not themselves. I gained the most out of this world from greed, anger and pure power. Power to kill and power to destroy. I was known under a slew of names. The trapdoor lover, prince of darkness, opera ghost. But the name that lives on in these times of forgetfulness, that has become a complete façade is Phantom." Erik slipped off his mask as he faced his only son. "This is the face my mother hated. This is the face that sealed every bad thing in my life in place. Except your mother. Your mother, she hated this mask. She hated the Phantom. She wanted the true me. That scared little child with only a scrap of cloth to his name as he watched his mother, pregnant, come towards him with knives and fire pokers. The child who was not allowed around his baby sister for fear that he would make her a demon too. She wanted a heart that had tried to grasp the world only to have it turn from his hands screaming."

Erik placed his mask back on and got face level with his son, allowing him to see the tears glimmering beneath the surface. "This is what has been created, Rene. Look at it. This mask is the legend of the Phantom. This mask is one of death, deceit and destruction. I have lived my own life of lies. I have never lied to anyone in this room."

Rene's face was shocked. "You lied to Mom?" He looked back and forth between me and Erik then turned to the small black box on the wall. A box that we had used many of times to listen to the gossip of the inner circles of the big wigs of Parisian society.

Erik raised himself to his feet and gave Rafe a look. "Check the guest book. See who has signed in for tonight's show." Rafe nodded and slipped out of the room silently. "I have lied and stolen away many things. It has become quite a survival mechanism. Of all I could've stolen from her, her confidence, her love, her trust in a Phantom. I almost took her life. It was never intentional that so many plans would crash down around me at once. I wish I could've held out. And when I saw her, all those years ago, up on a rooftop with a razorblade hidden beneath her skirts, my hand reached out and brushed her face, trying to convey in a simple whisper how much I needed her to survive. How sorrow filled my heart when I had fell ill on the night of our meeting. How I could not allow Noemi to drag her down into the cellar to see me so desolate and weak. The door was sealed even to me. Then when I saw her true intent, I ran to gather her friends. The only people with any chance to save her. Her face was so white, the ground surrounding her so crimson red. My heart shattered every night I dreamed of what I had done to her. That scar still lingers there, Rene. Its on her arm and its on her heart. I dare not leave her for one night for I fear the day that I do will be a night full of fear for her heart. I am her world and her life and could never separate myself if I even tried. My soul is forever tied to hers, no matter what worlds come between us. In death I will follow her and in her dreams become the arms that encircle her and whisper sweet songs in her ear until day break tears her out of my arms. And with tear choked sobs I will let her go, anxiously awaiting the night to fall. Until her heart wishes me no longer permission to kiss her lips, to look into her eyes with love, the Phantom inside me is loyal, loving and kind."

Rene's arms wrapped around his fathers waist and hugged him with all of his might. "Father, I will be at least half as great of a man as you are. I promise."

Erik's smile lit up the room in happiness and love for this small boy that he had watched grow into this amazing young man of thirteen.

This touching scene made me wonder in my heart. When was the first time I had seen Erik. When had I realized his presence in the manor between my daily lessons with my mother and the tea parties with many of old women and young girls? My mind sifted through the early days at the opera house, deeper into Persia and the gypsy camps, all the way back into the few years spent on the French countryside. It was late at night, and I was thirsty. My nightgown was far too long for my four year old body and I kept tripping over the ends. My nanny was fast asleep, so I wandered down the hallway. It was cold, and my feet stuck slightly to the polished marble floor. Then I heard it. Piercing screams from behind a door my mother told me never to open. I lowered myself to my knees and pressed my eye to the crack. The floor had no marble, no rich rugs, but a hard wooden floor that had never been polished. The door smelled like feces and urine. I saw my mother's shadow moving, and this strange shadow I had never seen before.

"INSOLENT DOG!" She screamed and I heard a sharp crack and a whimper as the strange shadow scurried away from my mother. "Disgusting curr! Why did my body not complete its job and kill you when it had a chance? Now I must punish you demon!" More cracks and whimpers were heard. Tears streamed down my face. When had my mother became so cruel? I had no knowledge of this demon she spoke of but wished greatly to hold him and hide him from my mother. "You've cost me love." She whispered before she kicked him into the door.

He went to rise and spat up blood. "Mother…" He whispered gently before she shrieked and kicked him once more.

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME THAT YOU DISGUSTING RAT!" I heard her voice break and she spat angrily, "What would you do if your sister heard that word from your mouth? She is to be the lone heir, not you. You were simply a drunken mistake. A curse upon the Destler house." Her shoes started snapping towards the door. I tried to get up but it was too late. Her face sneered down at me and a boy, naked, bleeding, and looked at me with shock and horror. He couldn't have been a day over eleven.

"Noemi! Since you decided to stick your nose where it doesn't belong, you can spend a night with this beast." My mother, who had been so kind to me, picked me up by my throat until I was certain I was going to die, and threw me into the room. And locked the door.


	19. Brother

I turned slowly to face this boy, this person I had never seen or heard of. Mother had called him a beast but was he really my brother? His long hair was tangled and encrusted with excrement. In his shaking, bloodstained hands, a single mask made out of burlap. His eyes were the strangest color of green, haunting and at the same time, fearful. Of me? Or of her, my mother, the woman I had grown to love? A woman who smelled of soft lavender and spice.

"Who are you?" I asked, quivering slightly under his gaze. My hand reached out to touch him and brush a way a drop of blood about to fall on his only piece of clothing. He shrieked in terror and crawled away from me as fast as he could before he regained his senses and sat upright, his face only slightly visible by a small fire burning low in the grate.

"I should say no one of importance to the only hope of the Destler house, but that in itself is rude. It would only prove me to be a monster of the night. What mother dearest sees me as." His face contorted in rage and anger as he glared at the door behind me. When his eyes turned back he cocked his head sideways and smiled, his scars stretching in queer ways. "I believe I have found my own way to tell you, young one." He gently sat down in front of me and motioned towards the window. "Dawn breaks in 5 hours. Plenty of time."

"I was born mid winter, when the snow was so thick not even the main room fires could keep the smallest mouse warm. The doctor hadn't made it to the manor until it was too late. Too late, meaning too late to kill me before the priest forced Mother to feed me. Forced her to care for my most basic needs in hopes that my soul could be saved. But nowhere did he say she must be kind and gentle. No one told her to love me, so she never did. When I was old enough, a maid told me I was the result of one drunken night. See our father never wanted children. He was a rich respected man, and very old indeed. He had no need for an heir, but had a Destler mistress. See, the Destler name has influences, if only for the females. The men are killed at birth. The women? Groomed. Purebred. Beautiful. Why Noemi Allette, you are the spitting image of one of the most virtuous women to walk out of here and become something more." His hand reached out to swipe away a small fraction of hair that fell so innocently in my eyes.

"Yes, Noemi, you will become strong and powerful. Your voice will become an angels. Someday, somehow, it will. Those grey eyes are like haunting orbs now, and I can only guess at their power as you age. Noemi, you will be beautiful. I can only hope I am there beside you to see it."

He listened intently for a moment before his face turned red with rage. He stood and screamed as loud as he could. Fear filled my body as I watched my newfound brother pound his fist into the wall. "NO! NO! NO!" His sobs were full of pain and rage. His glare was venomous at the door behind me. "DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! MOTHER!!!" Tears streamed down his face until he turned and threw his body weight into one single punch that blasted a hole through the wall. The moon shone brightly outside, a symbol of hope. The dawn of a new day soon to come and a new beginning just around the corner. Erik turned to me and calmed instantly.

"Noemi, You don't have to come with me. But if you do, you have a chance to be more than a high class purebred prostitute. You have the choice to change your destiny, right here, right now. All you have to do is take my hand." Erik's eyes were so warm that night. He gave me love and comfort although he could have never been my father; his affection was that of a caring, overprotected brother, to the point, had he been old enough, he could easily have been mistaken. I had a brother. I had support for the rest of my life. I had protection. I had a brother. Me.

I grasped his hand without a second thought. And Erik's smile in that moment proved a certain someone right. He had a heart that could hold the world. His arms however, pulled me in and busted us through the hole and into the night.

The air was cool, and crisp. I could smell the estate around me, but it was something Erik was not used to. His nose was going crazy, trying to decipher scent from scent. Something wet splashed upon my face and I reached up and touched it. The liquid? Blood. Bright red in the moonlight. "Erik!" I exclaimed softly, "You're bleeding!"

He looked down at me and I saw the bright red dripping out of his nose and off his knuckles and his shoulders. He smiled coyly and spoke softly, "Just sleep Noemi. You've had a long day. Let me get to the stables and we'll get out of here."

"Why do you want to leave?" I asked sleepily as I curled into his chest, so boyishly defined.

"Mother has always hated me. She didn't let me come around you the night you were born because she was afraid your soul would be tainted by me. She believed me evil. And I'm not. She finally gave in and wanted to send me away. To an asylum. Our father said either him, or me. And she chose me. " His eyes turned soft at the stables and he whispered, "Exactly the same. These stables are exactly the same."

The last I remember we were riding away on a pitch black mare with a pure white mane. The rolling grasslands turned into beaches and oceans. When I awoke, dawn had broken and my new day had begun. We had become gypsies. And we were on the run.


	20. What's It Feel Like To Be A Ghost?

A civil life so mundane and average. And yet I come to wonder, why had Rafe not shown me any love? Sure, from war he returned into my arms and he cared and loved Shaton, but, what of me? His arms may hold but in his mind am I still the cryptic young teen or am I just the mother of his child? Am I truly who I am or to him am I yet another figurine in standing place for a woman he fell in love with years ago? Where was our large wedding? I am unmarried with his child, and for how must longer must I sit in wait for his perfect time?

My eyes peered down on the stage from our family box, the opera now well into the third and final act. I motioned to Erik and slipped out of the box via a secret channel that he had built into the room. Only two people knew of it, how to find it and how to disable it in the case of an accident. Or a well planned invasion such as the one in years past. Erik and I; thick as thieves from the moment we caught eyes the night his life was on the line. The dusty boards squealed under my weight and I shifted my weight to make myself lighter. The sounds, once so loud and clear became muffled as I moved deep into the bowels of the opera shell. I came finally, to a hallway lit softly with light. My feet touched cold stone before whispers drifted down the halls. I pulled myself into the shadows and listened intently.

I had seen him once, maybe twice. Terrifying, how he came out of nowhere. It was my only defense! I swear Meg! A breathy soprano, somewhat familiar, but eerily high. And he reminded me ever so faintly of someone, someone I once knew

A pregnant pause filled the corridor and two elegant shadows drifted into my view. One had a distinct dance step, and heavier foot fall. I mused briefly before concluding that she was indeed a member of the ballet corps. The other woman had a waddle much like a penguin. Listening intently when they stopped, I could hear the telltale sound of kisses and dresses rustling. When I peeked around the corner, Meg s lips were pressed in passion against Christines.

Rage filled me, and what happened next, I know not. But I am certain Agalaope enjoyed her midnight snack. 


	21. Chapter 21

His eyes avoided mine as I got in his face. WHY!?! My voice cracked as I hit his shoulder as hard as I could. Tears flowed as quickly as I could blink them away. LOVE ME! I screamed, Show me you CARE! He shook his head and it betrayed everything in my soul. He was leaving, walking away from nine years by my side, nine years of leading me on. You re just not the same, Noemi. Its nothing against you. You re beautiful. Its just not the beauty I once knew. I choked back vomit and turned away. Because I want marriage, you are leaving me behind. I have bought you and Shaton two tickets on an ocean liner to America. Another stab in the back from someone I had waited for years to hold me. From a protector turned enemy. Love is indeed a battlefield and he was abandoning me in No Man s Land to be executed by firing squad.  
You re not just leaving me I whipped around and slapped him as hard as my small body could across the face. You re going to put our daughter through hell! Rafe s eyes flashed through millions of emotions at once before he gave me one searing kiss on the lips , pushing me into the wall to try to get me understand some unspoken wish. With his eyes level he spoke softly and quickly. If you don t leave tonight, Madeline will take her away and kill you Noemi. She will kill everyone. Rene, Erik, Brittany, and you. She wants Shaton and me alive. So go, and believe this. I will never forget you. 


	22. Chapter 22

The ocean spanned out in front of me and Shaton s hair whipped around her face in the loosely tied braids. Erik s eyes spanned the coastline for any danger, and any sign she had decided to come. As far as I could tell, she had not shown her dirty face amongst the crowds. Then again, I doubt she would even dare. Her life may mean nothing but a heart beating for revenge at this point.

Brittany stood at the shore waving, a sickened Nadir beside her. His Indian face sunken in and each breath gasping he promised to keep Rafe in line. But I already saw a shadow deep inside of him. Menacing and fearful, he was turning into a monster of the night to seek and destroy souls for his own pleasure. He said I was not the same person when he had changed himself. It was never me, who had changed everything. He was so full of rage that he had killed many times. I never felt like he was a protector when so many of his actions reminded me of the night that he stole my virtue.

It has been years now that I can think of it, when Shaton and Rene aren t looking at me. How I despise that man and was so relieved as a young woman when I had took his life myself. Yes, I had taken his life years after he had stolen what little of a soul I had left. His screams of terror and agony as I slowly peeled away his clothing and marred his body as much as he had destroyed my hopes, my dreams and the one thing that made me something more than a Destler. He had taken from me what I had wanted to give to Rafe. And it is forever gone. I cannot get it back.

(2 months later)

America is nice. The spanning countryside is damaged due to land rushes but the air is so fresh here in the west. Erik has brought in people to build us a grandiose little home. His plans are elaborate and he has rid himself of many because of the phrase Impossible.

Brittany has sent us word of Nadir s fate, or what is left of it. We have missed the funeral but someday will go back to France to give our dearest friend the proper burial he deserves. Meanwhile she will stay.

Rafe has become increasingly distant. Brittany says its just the stress of keeping all in the Opera House safe, but we will see. She will leave shortly, if all works out right. Hopefully soon, he will come home and we can begin a new life. 


End file.
